PDF Family Law Form Library
California Judicial Council Forms With Explanations
These California Judicial Council Family Law Legal Forms Are For the Benefit
of the Clients of Thurman W. Arnold
and All Others Who Find Their Way Here!
We Provide Family Law and Divorce Attorney Services for the Desert Cities From
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to Joshua Tree, Barstow, Hemet, Riverside, and San Bernardino!
Current as of August 1, 2010
Commencing the Proceedings
- FL-100 Petition for Dissolution of Marriage/Legal Separation/Annulment
This is the document which begins an action for dissolution of marriage, legal separation, or annulment. It is not used for domestic partnerships. If you fail to check a box - including for instance a request for spousal support - you cannot obtain such relief later until and unless you amend the Petition. Whether or not you foresee hiring a lawyer, check the 'request for attorney fees' box.
Paragraph 6 contains a good checklist describing the grounds for annulment in California.
All of the grounds for dissolving domestic partnerships are contained in this mandatory form. The comments set forth above apply equally.
The mandatory form is required wherever there are minor children of both parties to the action.
The summons must be served in order for a California Court to have jurisdiction over the other party in a dissolution, legal separation, annulment, or domestic partnership. It contains important information about Automatic Temporary Restraining Orders (ATRO's), which bind you even if you don't bother to read them. Read them.
This is equivalent to the Petition for Dissolution/Legal Separation/Annulment. If you are served with a Petition for Legal Separation, you may convert the action into a divorce or annulment.
A Response to a partnership dissolution/legal separation/annulment has the same attributes as a Response to a marital dissolution.
The Appearance, Stip and Waivers form has several uses, but is required whenever you submit a Marital Settlement Agreement to the court for filing.
Income and Property Schedules
This form accompanies the preliminary and final declarations of disclosure forms. It is not filed with the Court but it is served upon the other party.
This is an critical form for getting your matter set for trial, whether as default or contested matter. Until it has been filed by both parties (or you if you have entered a default), the clerk's office cannot set the case for further hearing.
This accompanies the preliminary and final declarations of disclosure. It is essential that you fill it out completely and accurately, and supply supporting documents. The exchange of these forms are proof you have satisfied your fiduciary duties. What is sets forth or omits can be the basis for set aside motions in future years.
While the Preliminary Declaration of Disclosure (PDD) must be exchanged in all cases before a judgment can issue (except by the other party against whom a Default has been entered), completing and exchanging the Final Declaration of Disclosure (FDD) is optional and may be waived. It is a bad idea to do so.
The Income and Expense form is required to be filed in all California family law cases whenever money is being requested by or from either party. Read it carefully, fill it out accurately, and answer all the questions and provide all attachments. Page 3 gives you three important options in terms of what information you provide regarding living expenses. You do not need to answer income questions relating to new mates or cohabitants. Judges rely upon this document when deciding money issues. Provide good faith information!
This document is part of your preliminary and final declaration of disclosure, and it is mandatory that it be filled out and exchanged even where a default has been against the other party.
Concluding the Proceedings
This form must be executed and filed in all cases that are settled or resolved by way of Marital Termination Agreements and Marital Settlement Agreements; if it is not, the court clerk will likely reject your papers.
This is the actual Judgment rendered in all cases involving Marital Dissolution, Dissolution of Domestic Partnerships, Legal Separation or Annulment (Nullity of Marriage). It must be submitted together with a Marital Termination Agreement or sets forth the Court's rulings where there has been a trial.
This Notice accompanies the Judgment, and is mailed by the Court clerk to the parties once the Judgment has been signed.
This is a notice to employers advising them of the employee identity and the amounts that must be withheld from a paycheck per the court's support order.
Paternity Actions
A petition to establish paternity must be used to establish parentage when children are born to unmarried parents. Even if you signed a voluntary declaration of paternity (VDOP) as the father, some form of paternity judgment is necessary to establish your parental rights - including your rights to custody and visitation - if the children's mother takes a different view. If you anticipate a custody dispute with the other parent and there is no judgment for paternity existing, this is where you start.
This form answers the Petition to Establish Parental Relations. It must be served and filed upon the Petitioner within 30 days of service of the summons and petition to avoid a default judgment being entered. If you who contests paternity, you need to get this filed early on.
A Judgment of paternity has life changing consequences. Ignoring parental obligations of support may have criminal consequences. This document tells you so, and may later prove we told you so.
This Judgment once signed by a judicial officer and filed with the Court operates to conclusively establish your parental rights and obligations.
If you wish to contest a default Judgment of Paternity, a regular Judgment, or a Voluntary Declaration of Paternity with the aim of setting these aside, this is the required form. However, there are specific time limits on how long you have to change your mind or challenge a paternity judgment which you should review first. These are described to some extent in the FL-274.
This is information that you are required to have before filing a Paternity Set Aside Motion. You are well advised to seek legal advice on how to do this properly and when to file. The other parent can use this form as well to challenge your parental rights.
This is the form of opposition to a paternity set aside motion, and it should be completed and filed if you oppose the set aside.
This Order after Hearing sets forth the Court's ruling on the paternity set aside motion.
This request form is used where there is no paternity judgment but a VDOP was signed by the alleged father and now one party or the other (or a third party who claims they were really the biological father) claims that the party who signed is not the bio parent. See the FL-281.
This is the information you need to have in order to properly challenge a VDOP.
If you oppose the challenge to the VDOP/VDP, be sure to file this responsive declaration.
This sets forth the Court's ruling on the motion.
OSC's, Motions and Temporary Orders (Custody, Support, Etc.)
This is your "OSC" cover sheet that must accompany any request for temporary orders, or the modification of existing orders, in California family law cases except those accompanying a "Notice of Motion". The downside to using this form over the NOM is that a Judge must sign it, which means you may not be able to control when the hearing is set - in contrast to setting a motion through the clerk's office by noticed motion, which does not require a judge's signature.
Use this when the other party has already filed pleadings in the action. It is the equivalent of an OSC.
This is an attachment to an OSC or NOM application where ex parte orders have been sought. These typically involve control of property or payment of debts, and they are issued pending a regular hearing to preserve the status quo until the opposing side has a chance to be heard. This is not used for domestic violence orders.
This Application for order MUST BE USED in almost all cases where a NOM or OSC is filed, and needs to correctly identify what you are asking the Court to do. The declaration form at page two must set forth the facts that you allege which justify your right to obtain what you are seeking. You can write "see attached declaration" and then attach additional sheets as necessary. It is best to typewrite it if possible, but you are allowed to handwrite it. This always accompanies either the FL-300 or FL-301.
This is similar to the FL-310, but deals specifically with your proposals regarding custody and visitation.
If you have cause to believe the other parent might flee the jurisdiction with the children, or if they already have, be sure to include this in the paperwork you submit to the Court.
This is useful information for parents to read which gives some basic explanations about child custody concepts and procedures in California.
This is a mandatory form that must be used if you wish to bifurcate marital status (get divorced or terminate the domestic partnership before the rest of the case is finished), or if you want the Court to decide some issues in the case before it decides others.
This form has useful information about what to do with retirement plans.
This is what you file if you oppose almost any type of family law orders, and in particular requests relating to custody, support, and control of property. It it similar to the FL-310 (which is to be combined with the FL-300 or FL-301).
Sometimes referred to as the "F & O", this is what the Court requires be filled out after most non-domestic violence hearings. It should be submitted to the other side for approval, but if they won't approve and return it within 10 days submit it directly to the court clerk with that explanation. This is your formal order, and an important document to complete and get on file.
This form must be used if you seek to aside aside a support order for any of the reasons set forth in Family Code section 3691.
Forms Dealing With Pension Plans
This s is a required form to begin the process of joining a pension plan into the proceedings so that the California courts have jurisdiction to divide them.
This is used together with FL-370, and provides an expedited process for gaining jurisdiction over pension plans and administrators.
The Summons is issued by the court clerk when the FL-370 and Fl-372 are filed. It must be properly served upon the pension plan administrator in order for the joinder to be effective.
Earnings Assignment Orders and Initiating Contempt Proceedings
This form is submitted to the court, and when signed by a Judge constitutes an order to the party to appear at a hearing to "give any legal reason why this court should not find you guilty of contempt."
This is the charging declaration which alleges the facts establishing a contempt. Because contempts are criminal in the sense that people can be jailed and/or fined, you have a very high burden of proof to win a contempt and it is essential that you make no mistakes in preparing this paperwork. A non-lawyer is extremely unlikely to be able to use this remedy successfully.
This is an attachment to the FL-410 in cases involving violations of domestic violence restraining orders or custody and visitation orders.
Use this form to garnish wages in order to collect spousal support or domestic partner support.
Domestic Violence Forms
This mandatory Judicial Council form is used to initiate a request for domestic violence restraining orders. It is important that you be specific, complete and truthful. It is the document that judges look at first when ruling on DV applications. If possible, type it out, but this is not required as long as your handwriting is legible.
If you oppose DV orders, it is a good idea to complete and file this form although you are not required to do so by statute. Be sure to serve it on the other party in advance of the hearing, but at a minimum bring extra copies with you to court so you can hand them to the other side before the hearing begins.
When a DV Request for Order is submitted, it is usually ruled upon by a judge or Commissioner within 24 hours outside the presence of the parties, although this may vary in different counties. If temporary orders are issued, they typically tell the requesting party the latest date before the hearing that the other party must be served. It is not uncommon for people who request orders to fail to serve the other party in time, or to be able to locate them at all. Upon request Courts will usually reissue the temporary orders to provide additional time for service upon the responding party, and each time this form must be filled out and it should also be served with your moving papers.
This form is to help law enforcement obtain information necessary to enforce your DV restraining orders.
Civil Court Forms Used in Family Law
- MC-050 Substitution of Attorney - Civil
This is the basic Substitution of Attorney form that is still used in family law proceedings as well as other civil proceedings.
This the Judgment Form that is recorded in any California County Recorder's office to place a lien on property once a money judgment has been obtained and issued by the Court. If properly issued and recorded, a title company cannot safely transfer title to real estate to a new buyer without first obtaining from you a Satisfaction of Judgment form which declares you have been paid in full.
Here is a sample proof of service to be used with any documents, court papers, or discovery that are to be filed and/or filed and served in family law proceedings. Be sure to have it signed by a third party.
California Discovery Forms
These are the basic questions that should be asked in divorce, and it is also a good way to obtain the other party's property and income disclosure forms.
These are the civil Interrogatories forms which are useful in family law cases only if you combine them with Requests for Admission.
These are civil Requests for Admission that may be used productively is marital dissolution cases, particularly if you send them together with the Civil Interrogatories. Check boxes 1 and 17 on the form interrogatories.
Selected Forms From the Law Offices of Thurman W. Arnold, III
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